Your Heart Beats In My Ears
by DoctorRobbinsTorres
Summary: Based around the events of 6x23 when the shooter finds Callie and Arizona in the exam room at the hospital.


**Prompt: No prompt, just hours of finals studying that has dragged this from me…**

**AN: Since I first watched 6x23 and 6x24 (aka the hospital shooting episodes) I have wanted to write the scene when the shooter reaches Callie and Arizona. I finally took the time during a study break to do so. Enjoy! **

**-Maisie**

* * *

The first thing you register is the panic that flashes across Callie's face. It's brief, translating quickly to a 'deer caught in the headlights' kind of glazed over. You recognize that look, you've seen it in the OR when she's thinking faster than she can mange, trying to find a way to keep control of the situation, fix what's wrong. Somehow you don't need to turn around to know what's wrong with this situation, but you turn anyway.

The gunmen is leaning in the doorway, bleeding from an injury you try not to think about, not that it's hard. Your first instinct is Calliope. The second is your patient. You act upon the second instinct because trying to protect Calliope could make her a target. You wouldn't let her be a target _"There are only children here_."

Helpless kids. Scared kids. Sick kids. Kids who have done nothing wrong, who have absolutely no reason to die. You want to scream that at him, scream for him to leave these kids alone. But you don't. You do the only thing you can, protect the children. Bending over Ruby and making sure that you are in between her and any bullet that may come from that mans gun.

The gun scares you.

The harm that gun has done, that it still can do, that scares you.

Picturing Calliope on the ground, bleeding, unable to save her. That scares you.

"_They shot me." _

You're shaking, your entire body at a low grade persistent tremor and all you can think about is Calliope bleeding out on the floor. All you can hear is Ruby'swhimpers of pain and fear _"There are only children here. There are only children here." _It's all you can say, the words playing on repeat as the image of Calliope's blood haunts you.

In the moments of tense silence you see Callie with a plan, you don't like the plan because it involves her moving. It involves her putting herself in danger, deliberately putting herself in harms way. You want to scream and shout and grab her and hold her back, but you can't, only repeating, _"There are only children here. There are only-" _

"_Mr. uh" _you hear her say

"_Clark, Gary Clark." _The gunmen replies and the name is familiar, maybe you'd be able to place it if he wasn't a gunmen and you didn't have the image of your dead girlfriend branded into your memory.

She's out of your eyesight and talking again_, _saying words you can't focus on because the child in your arms is whimpering and you're more terrified then you have ever been in your life. You can barely breathe, waiting as you are for the sound of a gunshot to echo around the tiny room.

"_-to the wound. It'll stop the bleeding." _

God let that be enough. Let him leave _"I want my mommy." _Oh you know, you know how scared she must be.

"_Take them and go." _

Take them and go and don't shoot the love of your life. Take them and go and please, please just leave her alone, leave the kids alone, leave your friends alone. You know it's too much to ask for, but that doesn't stop you.

You're back is still turned and you hear Callie take a sharp breath.

Please don't let him shoot her.

"_Thank you." _

Then you hear the door being shut and Ruby cries out louder than ever _"I want my mommy." _All you can think about is how you want to hold Calliope in your arms, feel her heart beating and shout at her for being so damn brave.

"_I know you do, I know you do. And she's going to back soon, but until she get's back here you have the best doctor in the whole world with you right now." _How is she talking? How is she composed enough to calm a terrified child? _"Yeah" _she continues, as if stopping might shatter the illusion of her bravery _"Doctor Robbins is the best doctor in this entire hospital. I-I think in the whole world." _You let out a shaky breath, _"People feel so much better after she helps them, sometimes people feel better just after she walks in the room. 'Cause she has got this smile, this super magic smile. Yeah, and when she smiles at you_" you look at Callie, really look at her because somewhere along the lines of comforting a scared patient, she started talking to you.

For just a moment she glances over at you, and you see that in this instant she is more terrified then she ever was with a gun in her face. And that tells you something. It tells you so many things but-she's not done yet _"You don't know it because you have your back to her but she is giving you, wow, she is giving you her best super magic smile." _And you see her gauge Ruby's reaction and then she's smiling _"Isn't that right Doctor Robbins." _

You're not, but you should be _"Right" _you say, wishing you could say more _"I am Ruby. I am" _

You're still amazed at how, how collected she is right now. At how her next instinct is to call the police and how you don't want her to go but _"I'm, I'm good." _Even though you're really not and when she leaves you'll hold your breath until she comes back. But at the feeling of her hand against your face you close your eyes and memorize the way it makes your heart jump, the way butterflies start up in your stomach and how even after everything you two have said and done, she can still do that to you.


End file.
